Six Times the Trouble
++ Vos ++ In her earlier years, Panacea didn't get out much. Once she was fully certified as a medic, she pretty much had stayed in her hometown until the mine closed down. Now that she has a little more time on her hands, she's curious about the other cities on Cybertron, curious about this 'culture' she's heard people speak of. So, here she is, in Vos, taking a look around. Blast Off comes back to Vos every now and then. He used to live and work here, and he *misses* it. The culture, the High Life, the atmosphere. Everything about this place is SO much better than that rust pit Kaon. So once in a awhile, despite being a Wanted Mech... he just has to come back and BASK here awhile. That's what he does now- he *basks*. Ok- hidden in the shadows to hide from the Authorities, but still... And it is while Panacea is taking a look around and Blast Off is er, lurking, that a familiar face will jog up to the medic with a kind smile. "Panacea! It's good to see you again," he says, his bright green optics cheery. He opens his subspace compartment and produces a beautiful and rare looking inorganic energon flower, native to Cybertron and usually only found in the mines. He holds up it up to Panacea. "I was passing by that mine you used to work at and found this growing in the area. I thought of you, and I hope you like it." He smiles at her. Panacea doesn't know that Blast Off is skulking around. What she does know is that Exodus has shown up and presented her with a flower. She looks immensely pleased and accepts it in her dainty hands. "Thank you!" she exclaims, moving to give the mech a quick hug. "It's lovely." She sucks on her bottom lip slightly. "Automated machines don't appreciate these like 'real' miners do," she says wistfully. "I think it's a mistake to go the automated route." Bending the stem ever so slightly, she hooks it into her light helmet. "I'm guessing you've been doing good?" Blast Off happens to glance over and ...is that Exodus? He's kinda hard to miss. Ohhh- and what's this? Is he making a move on Panacea over there? Y'know, the right thing to do would probably be to simply go on his way and leave them be but.... nah. Exodus said he'd buy Blast Off a drink the last time he saw him. Sooo.... over goes the shuttleformer towards the two others. Then he does at least have the courtesy to wait quietly to get noticed. So that THEN he can beg for a free drink. (What? He's poor now *sobs*) Exodus seems surprised when Panacea hugs him, the lights on his faceplates dim a little in shy embarrassment but he hugs her back, chuckling softly. His large hands nearly cover her entire torso. He smiles fondly as she places the flower on her helm, and once again looks bashful. "Aw, I'm not the most real of the bunch," he says, rubbing his helm. "Yeah...you too? That looks really nice on you, by the way," he compliments her genuinely. Then he notices Blast Off. He smiles. "Hey, how're you doing, brother?" Panacea still looks quite pleased; it's nice to be thought of. "You really think so?" she asks about the appearance of the flower. "Though we don't really know each other very well, so I'm a bit surprised." She's not so polite that she refuses gifts out of hand. If someone wants to give her something, she's going to not second guess their judgement. At this point she notices Blast Off and offers him a faint smile. "Isn't this pretty?" she asks, gesturing to the flower. There's nothing flaunting about it; she's just excited at receiving a surprise gift. Then she looks him over rather critically, after which she smiles again. "Good to see you in one piece," she notes. Violet optics look up at Exodus expectantly. "Uh.... sort of thirsty." Hint hint. HIIINT. Panacea receives a polite nod, then a quick gaze. "Yes, quite lovely. It has a delicate blush that compliments your paint job." Apparently Blast Off knows how to be at least somewhat charming sometimes. Then he inclines his head. "Yes... well, when I'm not busy saving half the town of Nyon or striking a blow against oppression, I work on my maintenence and repairs so that I continue to be in one piece. "Of course," Exodus smiles softly at Panacea, "not that you weren't lovely before," he says. Then he looks a little worried, and his brow ridges furrow. "Oh," he says, "You were just so sweet to me before, I was trying to extend the same to you...? I'm sorry if I was overbearing.." he looks away, slightly embarrassed. Exodus laughs at Blast Off and his optics light up. "Yeah, let's go get a drink," he says, looking amused. Panacea looks pretty pleased with Blast Off's compliment. "You have quite the silver vocoder, don't you," she says with a lopsided smile. Then she grows a tiny bit more serious. "One of these cycles I should get a good scan of you so I know what parts to keep an optic out for," she says. "You mentioned they were getting harder to find, yes?" She shakes her head to Exodus. "Nothing like that at all," she says. "I was just surprised; I didn't think I'd made that much of an impression already." She tilts her head to the side. "Is that an open invitation?" she asks when he offers to get a drink with Blast Off. A trio of jets flies in from the direction of the Mithril Sea. Vos had been on Quickswitch's mutable itinerary, and after a float in the sea in hovercraft form, here they are. They transform and land, two Senate Enforcers and a larger mech. The larger mech sees the three Cybertronians and waves, "Hello!" he calls out from a distance, before transforming to tank mode and coming on over. Blast Off looks away, trying to let the two have their moment (but not TOO MUCH of one, since... y'know, DRINKS). Then at Exodus' laugh, he looks back and YESSS. The shuttle manages to look just a little happy. He KNEW this would be a great idea! Well, as long as no one suddenly shows up to ruin it like they usually do, but SURELY that won't HAPPEN this time! "Yes!" To Panacea, he seems to smile slightly behind that faceplate, giving her the sightest of bows. he does remember his high class society roots. "I simply have... class. It is a lost art." At the rest, he blinks. Oh. "...I suppose so. It... seems to come up somehow. A lot." Then suddenly someone DOES show up. The Combaticon tenses as Senate Enforcers arrive and OMP is that that guy from the bar the other night? The shuttle shrinks back, trying to sort of hide behind Exodus' bulk without LOOKING like he's trying to hide.... Exodus smiles generously at Panacea, "Yeah, tab's on me," he says, "you're the lady, you choose the place. As long as Blast Off doesn't mind," he says, glancing over at the Combaticon. The flower on Panacea's helm is falling down a little, so the miner reaches over affectionately and adjusts it, giving her a bashful smile. Then the Enforcers are arriving and Exodus' catches Blast Off's drift, and conveniently stands in front of him, effectively blocking him from view. Exodus watches Quickswitch a little warily. "...hey." When the trio of mechs show up, Panacea simply waves back and returns the greeting of, "Hello." She has no problems with the law as an entity, though some of the specific laws of Cybertron are rather irksome. The one becomes a tank and is rolling over, but she doesn't seem terribly alarmed for the moment. "Well, if that is what class sounds like, I think we need more of it. Not that I'd trade in my other friends for who they are," she amends. If she notices that he's apparently trying to hide, she makes no sign of it. "I don't mind paying my own way," she says to Exodus, "though if you insist, I'm not going to say no," she adds with a quick wink. "As for choosing a place, this is my first time in Vos, so I have no clue." She looks over to Blast Off again. "Do you have any ideas? This city looks more like your kind of place, yes?" Quickswitch is flanked by two Senate Enforcers. They look mean and businesslike, unlike the large, open mech that's stopped by, "This is Vos?" he asks in a friendly manner and an open smile, "The name's Quickswitch. I'm touring the area." He makes no mention of the Senate guards to either side of him. Blast Off is glad when Exodus moves to hide him (this seems a recurring theme too- "block Blast Off from Whirl/Quantum/Quickswitch's view"- hope you don't get tired of this Exodus, you may have to get used to it). "Yes, I am not picky, Exodus." He moves to keep Panacea in view- but not Quickswitch. At Panacea's comment, the shuttle loooks a tad proud. "Yes. I used to live here. It IS my kind of place." He looks around, then states... "There is a nice cafe and bar about 2 blocks to our west. A place that has a nice selection but is not TOO expensive." Not that he used to MIND expensive. The Senate Enforcers are making him more nervous, however, and he starts keeping his head low in order not to be seen as easily. Exodus smiles. "I am going to insist," Exodus says, "because you deserve it. By the way, did you find a job yet? And where are you living right now?" Exodus nods politely at Quickswitch, but he still seems quite guarded, simply for Blast Off's sake, however, he nods at the Combaticon's statement about the cafe. "Hey Quickswitch, nice to meet you, hope to see you around again, but we gotta run," he says, nodding. "Until we meet again?" he says with a polite smile as he starts walking away sloooooowly so he can keep Blast Off from view. "I'm Panacea and this is my first time in Vos too," says the slim femme, extending a hand to Quickswitch, whom she knows NOTHING about. "Do your friends have names as well?" she asks, looking at the two mechs, each in turn. She doesn't take much notice of Blast Off's position. "Alright, that sounds like a good idea," she says to him with a smile. "Just let us know when we get there." To Exodus she smiles brightly. "All this flattery might go to my head," she warns with a fair bit of levity. Sobering down a bit she nods once. "I'm set up in Kaon right now; it seemed to need more medics for the general population since a lot of the medics were being scooped up for other duties." She makes a slight face; she doesn't approve of the Forge. "So I have a nice little building that I both stay in and work out of. It's not fancy, but it suits my needs just fine." "I'd like to come along with you, that is, if you don't mind," Quickswitch says genially, "Excuse me a moment." he steps aside to speak to the two enforcers, "You don't have to follow me. I won't run off this time. Just wait outside. Not going anywhere." the large mech looks at Panacea and takes her hand gently. For some reason, he feels an electric blush to his face, "Oh, them, they do. They're not my friends, they're uh... nevermind them. Nice to meet you," he eyes Exodus carefully, "Is everything all right..?" Blast Off appreciates the slow movement by Exodus and uses it to his advantage, still blocking Quickswitch and the Enforcers from view as much as he can. He nods to Panacea. "Of course!" Well, he's not exactly *modest*. "Just this way... sometimes they have live music, too. Or poetry!" Yes, he's kind of a romantic geek in a way. Not that he'd admit it. Then- slagitall- Quickswitch FOLLOWS them. The Combaticon HUFFFS in frustration- then suddenly shuts up. That might sound odd- a sudden loud *huffff* coming from the other side of Exodus. NOT SUSPICIOUS at ALL, Quickswitch, right? "It's not flattery if it's all true," Exodus says, with a small laugh. However, when Quickswitch invites himself along he figuratively sweat drops a little. This isn't going to end well for Blast Off if Quickswitch decides to come along. Well, he's just going to have to do the best with the situation at hand. He discreetly reaches behind him and covers Blast Off's ventilators, so Quickswitch doesn't hear the loud HUFF. Then he glances down at Quickswitch taking Panacea's hand and gives the larger mech a disapproving look. He takes Panacea's other hand and pulls her away from Quickswitch, taking a step back. He frowns. "Yeah, everything's fine as long as we part on friendly terms here," he says, "don't mean to be rude, but this is strictly between me and the lady. Sorry, pal." "They're not your friends and they're following you around? That would kind of weird me out," Panacea says honestly. "But I guess that's your business, not mine." She shrugs her shoulders. "I certainly don't mind if you come, but I can't speak for anyone else." She gives the two Enforces a speculative look and a little finger wiggle wave. Blast Off's behavior is getting kind of hard to miss now. She'll just have to ask him about it later. While she has a bit of an impish streak, getting someone into ACTUAL trouble doesn't really amuse her. So she doesn't say anything further to him for now; hopefully he won't think she's being rude all of a sudden. She looks somewhat surprised as Exodus pulls her back. For a moment she doesn't know whether to look more flattered or offended. She still can't decide a few moments later so she just laughs a little and shrugs her shoulders. "Friendly is good," she states. "I really can't stand people getting into fights and stuff." And boy is she ever telling the truth on that one. The two Senate Enforcers don't wave back. Quickswitch tilts his head and glances skeptically at Exodus, but just as quickly dismisses whatever's troubling him. Instead, he looks confused. All he did was take the lady's hand. What did he do? This, too, is dismissed and Quickswitch smiles, "Lead on. Where are we going?" He transforms into puma mode and pads along. Everything, so fleeting. The puma frowns to himself. That just causes Blast off to HUFF even louder and spring back. PERSONAL SPACE, Exodus, personal spaaace! He doesn't mind Panacea's silence. No, right now the less attention the better. Technically he shouldn't even BE here in Vos, and it does seem he runs into a lot of trouble here. That mech that keeps following them transforms- into that PUMA from the video. Oh SLAG. He was one of THEM. He is an Autobot and Blast Off's enemy. Slag slag slaggity slag. The shuttle comes back to stick a little closer to Exodus after all. Exodus looks tired. Mech, trying to keep Blast Off safe was turning into his day job. With a sigh, he shakes his helm. Apparently this Quickswitch guy can't take a clue, either that, or he's not being obvious enough. "Me either," He says to Panacea, putting a hand on her waist and pulling her closer to him. "Look, kid, you can join us another time. Sorry, but with all due respect, you can't come with us. Not this time." He leans closer to Panacea and presses a small kiss onto the side of her faceplate. "C'mon, babe, let's go.." He starts ushering her along, walking a little more quickly this time, in the opposite direction that Quickswitch is walking, hoping Blast Off will take a hint and follow and stay behind him out of sight. "" Exodus radios Panacea politely. Panacea gives the Enforcers a funny look, but then proceeds to ignore them. She smiles faintly to Quickswitch to show that /she/ wasn't upset that he took her hand. Though she does look interested when he turns into a puma; wasn't he a tank just moments ago? Medically, that's pretty intriguing. Blast Off? What Blast Off? There is no Blast Off here, just a nameless mech that's been talking about places to drink on the other side of Exodus and has no physical presence whatsoever, right? And then she gets a waist-pull and a kiss. Before she can object, she hears the message. She definitely does NOT want to see a fight, so she doesn't object. At least she's quick enough on her feet to play along, and leans quite easily into Exodus as they walk along. "Anything you say," she says with a little giggle. "Better luck next time," she says, looking over her shoulder to wave at Quickswitch...though inside she feels a little guilty just leaving him out like that. A sudden rush of rage boils over. The puma roars, "How /dare/ you!" at being dismissed and walked away from. He bunches up to spring at them, but the Senate Enforcers move quickly to block him from making any further moves, "That's enough!" one of them castigates the six changer, "We're leaving." Blast Off can't help it, Exodus. It just seems that /half the population of Cybertron/ is after him- for one reason or another. He does take the hint though, and continues using Exodus' bulk to keep out of sight. Just in time, too, as the puma lunges. The Combaticon's hand flexes, ready to bring out his blaster- and then the Enforcers save him the bother. Whew. After that, Blast Off follows Exodus and Panacea. At least this time no one *proposed* to him. Exodus looks pleased and flattered yet uncomfortable at the same time, his faceplate lights are a pale, pale green. He never kisses girls. "Of course," he says. However, after Quickswitch leaves, Exodus slowly lets go of Panacea and steps back. "Sorry about all of that," he says, sounding ashamed, "I wouldn't have left him out but Blast Off isn't exactly the most popular guy in town when it comes to the law. And I don't want to endanger him." He smiles at her though, and glances over at Blast Off, "Let's go get a drink though, yeah? Hopefully that'll ease both of your minds." And he starts heading for the cafe Blast Off mentioned earlier. "Hey, it's okay," Panacea says. "Better a kiss than a slap, yes?" She chuckles softly at this. "A drink definitely sounds good though; I'm not really all that fond of tension." She looks back for a moment, thinking about the strange mech, but then puts him out of her mind. There was no false sincerity in her desire to keep people safe; even those who are wanted by the law. LATER: There's a heated discussion going on outside the Vosian streets and shops and cafes and the Citadel. "I /told/ you, we're leaving!" It's the Senate Enforcers, and Quickswitch. The Autobot is standing there in robot mode, resolute, arms folded defiantly over his chest. He came to see Vos and Vos is where he's staying. Besides, there was something very strange about that mech that dismissed him earlier. "What are you gonna do, drag me back to Iacon?" Quickswitch says in a surly voice. Blast Off is all too aware of Quickswitch.... but surely that Autobot must have left by now? The Combaticon had a drink or two with Exodus and Panacea, but couldn't quite relax knowing that the Autobot and his Enforcers were still (possibly) in the vicinity. Feeling a tiny bit of a buzz now, Blast Off sneaks out of the cafe and makes his way down what he hopes is a quiet little street, looking for a place to transform and fly home. HRRRMMMPPHHHFFF!!! One of the Senate Enforcers goes flying, thrown by Quickswitch directly into the path of the sneaking Blast Off! "Slag /that,/" Quickswitch grunts and brushes his hands. But the mech looks closely, narrows his blazing green optics... Is that..? Blast Off has this weird feeling he's being watched. Then again, he tends to be a bit paranoid about that these days.... but who can blame him? Some days it feels like half of Cybertron is after him for one thing or another.... and being on 'Cybertron's Most Wanted' doesn't help. Then, suddenly, an ENFORCER gets thrown into the Combaticon's path, landing with a thud. Blast off freezes, staring at the guard- then he sees Quickswitch over there narrowing his optics at him. Oh /Slagitall/.... he IS still here! Quick, he's gotta get out of here. The shuttleformer darts away... or really, he /walks away really fast/.... trying to make haste out of there while NOT looking like he's doing so! NOTHING TO SEE HERE people MOVE ALONG. No, I'm not suspicious at all! Quickswitch's optics narrow to blazing slits of green. "Outta my way!" he shouts at the other enforcer and transforms--limbs folding and blocky body forming into his stealth puma mode. He makes an astonishing leap, aided by his wings- yes, the puma has WINGS--and makes a leap for Blast Off. "I know you..." the beast hisses in a low, luxurious and certain voice, then, damningly, "Decepticon!" Slaaaag. This isn't good. Blast Off winces a little as Quickswitch yells out *Decepticon* for everyone to hear. The few passerby who are in the area turn to stare as the Combaticon gives up on trying to look unsuspicious and resorts to flat out running. But then Qucikswitch transforms into not only a puma, but a winged one at that- and launches right towards him! The shuttleformer has to blink or twice... no, he's not drunk- that cat has wings. Slaaag again. Now his blaster comes out from subspace- and he points it at the 'Bot. "Back off." The words are heard but unheeded by the big cat who just continues sailing toward Blast Off, intent on sinking its claws into metal and circuits, "...Or what? You will shoot? HAHAHAHAHA!" the beast roars hideous laughter. He aims shoulder-mounted photon blasters at Blast Off. In truth, he barely even knows the Decepticon, but he bears the forbidden brand, and that makes him the enemy, so dealt with he will be. The puma snaps its jaws, trying to grip onto Blast Off and tear chunks of metal out of him. Combat: Quickswitch misses Blast Off! Blast Off isn't actually *wearing* the brand right now- at least not visibly. Decepticons still strive to remain quiet and hidden, ready to strike -but only when it is time. Otherwise it is quite dangerous to let others know you're a "terrorist" wanted by the Senate. But Quickswitch will certainly know him from the raid. there's no doubt Blast Off is a Decepticon now. And faced with an angry Autobot attempting to invade his precious personal space and land a strike on HIM, there's only one thing to do- leap aside (which he does, his fairly fast reflexes aiding him once more) and then firing off a shot. "YES!" Combat: You hit Quickswitch! The beast's jaws close on air--snap around nothing--the six chamger snarls white-hot rage, further fanned by the sting of the shot landing at his shoulder. It makes a smoking mark where it lands--the beast turns, prepares to leap again--does so, but this time transforms AGAIN, into a large laser pistol, "Two can play at this little game," Quickswitch eyes the Decepticon in his sights and fires. What kind of a Transformer IS he? Combat: Quickswitch misses Blast Off! The Senate Enforcers collect themselves and stand by, watching, "I want to see how it'll handle this," one of them mutters to the other. Blast Off's shot hits Quickswitch (but of course) and then the Autobot.... wait, what? Blast Off freezes a moment to stare as the puma changes to a...gun? But the Combaticon sniper /knows/ guns, and he knows that you don't want to be on the business end of one! Lunging to the side, he spots those Enforcers and braces for trouble on that end, too.... but finds none. they seem to be watching- for now. The shuttleformer narrows his optics at them- then back at Quickswitch. "Game? You consider this a game, do you? Typical. Let's see how you like *losing*, then!" He laucnhes himself into the air, firing another shot while trying to keep distance. He's a sniper- he wants to stay far away and shoot from a safe distance. Up close? He's in trouble. Combat: You miss Quickswitch! The floating weapon darts out of the way and moves to aim and return fire from its double-barrels. The Senate Enforcers indeed make no move to stop Blast Off or to attack him. They watch patiently as their charge flexes his metal. QUickswitch attacks recklessly, lacking the grace and precision of an experienced fighter. Combat: Quickswitch hits Blast Off! Blast Off is getting distracted by having to keep watching over at those Enforcers (yeah, that's it!) and THAT's why he misses! (Yeah!) A little flustered by the miss, he glances once again over at the Guards- and gets nailed by Quickswitch's shot. It sends hims flying backwards and slamming into the side of a building. "GAH!!" Ok, ouch. The Combaticon slides down with a screech of metal until he lands on the street below. Then he pushes himself up, bracing against the wall with a HUFFFF from his ventilation systems. "Lucky shot! At least in gun mode you can actually aim- sometimes." He steps forward, bracing to launch up again (staying on the ground while fighting is generally a bad idea for him) but he fires off a shot first. Combat: Quickswitch partially blocks your attack and takes less damage. The gun swerves to avoid the shot--and gets a glancing shot to its barrel, "Ow!" It hurts, and the six changer SNARLS at Blast Off's taunt, "...This is no game," he says in a dry, serious voice, "Stand still..so I can make this quick. I don't want to draw it out and make you suffer.." He sounds sincere, and the weapon fires off another shot at Blast Off, trying to immobalize him by aiming for a seam in his armor. Combat: Quickswitch partially hits Blast Off for minor damage! Blast Off lets out an even more annoyed HUFFF at that, turning into a strained rev of engines upon yet another gunshot- though part of the noise is simply exertion as Blast Off again leaps away. The shot takes off an armor plate on his leg but doesn't do major damage this time. "The only one suffering is going to be YOU. I simply tried to mind my own business and /leave/, but NO... you wanted to pick a fight. Now you will find that it is quite foolish to pick a fight with a *Combaticon*! I am a veteran of countless battles, Autobot- how about you?" Now he launches himself into the air again, trying to gain distance- and fires off another shot from his weapon towards Quickswitch's barrel end. Combat: Quickswitch partially blocks your attack and takes less damage. The shot lands right inside Quickswitch's barrel. The stunned six changer instinctively transforms, into jet mode and fires at Blast Off in the air, "Primus will you stay /still!/ Combaticon or whatever you are, I assure you, you do not match the might of my mentor, Sixshot, no matter how many battles you've fought. HOW STAY STILL!!" Combat: Quickswitch partially hits Blast Off for minor damage! OMP, now he's a JET?! Blast Off stares for a moment, then remembers to move- still gaining a little altitude when Qucikswitch informs him- WHAT? "Sixshot? What about him?" The distraction is enough that the Autobot manages to again land a strike- though once again he avoids being hit anywhere that's vital. Still, he hisses in a small amount of pain now. "Sixshot HELPED me. If you were really his student, you wouldn't be trying to offline me now!" With that, there's yet another shot fired the Autobot's way. "One measly armor plate? Millions of cycles and resources spent on you and that's all you can do?!" the Senate Enforcers shout at Quickswitch from the ground. The six changer, humiliated, burns, begins to overheat, "I don't /believe/ you!! I'll kill you, Decepticon. I'll pull you out of the sky!!!" he shrieks and takes a hit as he transforms into puma mode again, barely feeling the biting pain. He tries to fasten his jaws around the exposed portion of Blast Off's leg, "I-I will! I WILL!!" the shout is little more than ravings, the edge of his voice freyed with frustration, rage and not a little instability. Smoke begins to rise from the seams in his armor. Combat: Quickswitch partially hits Blast Off for minor damage! Blast Off glances over at the Enforcers, shouting and jeering at the Autobot. Hmm. What's this? He's sensing a little *rift* here that might benefit him...Oooor, then again, it might /kill/ him as that gun-turned-puma tries to clamp down on his leg! The shuttleformer is taken a little by surpise by the Autobot's sheer *ferocity*, and the puma bites down hard. But oh no, no, no... this won't do at all! Violet optics widen and the shuttleformer starts scrambling away as fast-and as desperately- as he can just as those jaws clamp downward. It's a race against time... and Blast off wins- sort of. The metal on his leg *crunches* as teeth grind down- but he somehow manages to barely slip out of the cat's hold. By tearing and rending metal as he goes, and damaging part of the wing mounted on that leg.... but still- he tears away from the grip and gains freedom. Once free, he kicks in anti-gravs even harder, though some circuitry has been damaged there, too. But still... perhaps he can use what he just learned to distract the cat. "Tsk! You're a /poor excuse/ for a Sixshot student, I'll tell you that..." He states coldly, firing another shot as he tries to fly away. Combat: Quickswitch partially blocks your attack and takes less damage. The puma roars, furious now, and utterly mortified and in sudden pain! The shot hits him as he darts forward to pursue Blast Off, spitting out the metal that he took with him as his prey sped away from him, "Once I'm done with him, I'm starting on you two!!" he bellows toward the ground. The feline six changer tries to reach out and claw at that exposed area, to give itself purchase to claw the rest of him. He can't take the insults, nor that it may be proving true. How would this look to his mentor..? Shut up, shut up, "SHUT UP!" On the ground, the two enforcers consult one another, "On count of three, fire on them both." "One..." "Two..." "Three!" One Enforcer fires on Quickswitch and the other on Blast Off. The shot hits the puma in the side, "HISSSS!" the Autobot hisses. Combat: Quickswitch partially hits Blast Off for minor damage! Well, looks like the puma is indeed getting angrier- and this could still work to his benefit. Ooor, again, maybe not- as the Enforcers decide to get into the act, too. Blast Off keeps evading the puma- but not the guards- who manage to knick him in the shoulders. With an angry huff, he turns around to fire at them too.... while STILL trying to stay out of the reach of that angry cat! Combat: You miss Quickswitch! The Enforcers dart out of the way of Blast Off's attack. The puma screams now, in pain, wrath, shame, all these coalesce and overpower Quickswitch's mind. He looks from Blast Off to the Enforcer who shot him, "Just you wait..." Quickswitch hears the Autobot mutter, and as he fires his shoulder photon lasers at Blast Off's head. Taking out those sensors would hobble his prey for sure. Combat: Quickswitch hits Blast Off! Life can be funny. Not too long ago, Blast Off shot Whirl in the head- and triggered a long, strange tale of angst and regrets. He did actually finally apologize for it- even actually felt a little *bad* for it. And now, here he is.... firing at Enforcers who he *misses* because Quickshot takes that very moment to fire right at his OWN head- and landing a direct hit with that photon laser! And Blast Off, like Whirl, doesn't do so well with that. The shuttleformer immediately falls head over heels, tossed, tumbling downwards as a cloud of black smoke, engulfing his entire head, trails behind. The Combaticon lands with a sickening *crunch*. Then lies there, stunned, as his vocal processors try to function again and he attempts to determine if he can even SEE at all. One black hand reaches out in front of him, feeling his way, and the stench of burned circuitry fills the air. "Zkkkt****!!" The other grips his weapon as he tries to figure out where Quickswitch is and how much damage he just did. The beast actually /smiles/ at his handiwork and darts straight to the ground. After a swift appraisal of his prey he leans in, very very close and says softly, "One moment..." Then, the massive beast turns on his handlers, "I said I was going to deal with you, next..." Quickswitch says, strangely quiet, "I wasn't joking..." he advances on the Senate Enforcers, who look half bemused and half panicked. Quickswitch speaks FAR too closely to Blast Off. he can't see well, though there seems to be something in the haze and smoke... The Combaticon is in some serious trouble, though. And he knows it. The sensor above his optics is shot to smithereens, negating his usual sharpshooting skills, and while some scanners are still online, it's not enough against an opponent like this. Blast off hates to admit it, but... he could use some help right now. He will NOT go back to prison! He CAN'T. That thought- prison- urges him on, and he scans through radio signals, trying to find some nearby frequencies. There MUST be a Combaticon somewhere nearby. There HAS to be. In his mad dash to find a frequency that works, a frequency of someone he (more or less) trusts... he broadcasts out to his Combaticon teammates- and... after a secon'd hesitation- he tries contacting Swift Blade too. They will received a distress signal- an urgent one. Quickswitch transforms to robot mode and stares, indecisively between the Enforcers and finishing off Blast Off. The Enforcers would as soon carry the Combaticon off. Not Quickswitch. Not in this frame of mind. He shakes his head, "No," he answers no one in particular, and the quite odd Cybertronian marches toward Blast off after all... "We've got to take him prisoner," the Enforcers debate amongst themselves, "We can't let it kill him." "We have no idea if he's going to do that--" Swindle rushes into Vos upon receiving the distress call. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" he exclaims as he sees his Combatibro laid out on the ground. "Alright, whoever you are, back away from my comrade slowly if you know what's good for you," he says, raising his arm-cannon. Swift Blade is often in Vos; it's where she's been training almost since she got to Cybertron. Since she went through her assessment at any rate. So it doesn't take her too long to arrive upon hearing the distress signal. While it might be dangerous, she doesn't hesitate to help a friend in need, and she doesn't have the level of paranoia to suspect it might be a trap of sorts. So Blast Off might hear the sound of a jet engine nearing his coordinants. There's the sound of a transformation and feet touching the ground. Swindle and Quickswitch will see a Seeker arrive and transform into a femme that is missing much of the usual Seeker armaments but wielding a pair of swords instead. Taking a look between the fallen Blast Off and the other four mechs she asks, "What happened here?" in a rather severe tone. Blast Off can feel those heavy footfalls coming for him again, and brings his blaster around to aim shakily in the general direction of his enemy. "ZZty...*Ckkkk*" That's *supposed* to be 'stay back" but.... mostly what anyone else will hear is static. He pushes himself to his hands and knees, trying to lean away while keeping that gun raised. This is NOT good. He hears a lot of static... buzzing.... where did all those Insecticons come from anyway? But through the audio distortion he does hear *prison* and his spark just sinks. And then- he hears something /else/. His teammate. Swindle is there, and he's got Blast Off's back. Combaticons may argue or bicker, but deep down- they stick together. because if they don't, who on Cybertron will? That is also answered with the roar of jet engines. Swift Blade? She came? She's not even a Combaticon.... and she /came/? He tries to explain. "*crrk*zkkkt*!" "Pi-Alpha-3-Tango-6-3-7!" one of the Enforcers barks before Quickswitch can reach Blast Off's fallen body. The six changer responds...by not responding. His optics dim, his face grows slack, his fingers grow slack and he falls forward with a heavy clang onto the ground, "OMP, the kill switch actually works!" the Enforcer calls out. The other notes too, amazed, but they both try to take charge of the situation, "Stay back, this Decepticon is being apprehended." "Over my slagged carcass he is," Swindle snaps, "Back off, or you get a real good look at your insides from the outside. I don't care if he stole the Maltese Laserbeak." In for a bit, in for a shanix. Swift Blade stares at the Enforcers. "I'm afraid I can't let you do that," she says softly, even politely. "He's badly hurt and I can't trust that he will get proper medical care if you take him in." She glances at the mech that had just toppled over. Well, that was strange. Then again, she knew of some of the controls she had in her years as a slave. Was this large mech a slave of some sort? She glances at Swindle; she doesn't know him by name, but she does know he's one of Blast Off's team mates. He is given a brief nod of recognition but her optics mostly remain focused on the two Enforcers. Slowly she backs towards Blast Off so that he might be able to sense that she's standing right beside him; he has such a need for space that he can probably tell if someone is just close, even if they're not touching him. OF course, she keeps out of the way of his gun, however, and she draws her swords. "Stay back! He's totally crazy! There's no telling when he'll wake up," the Enforcer indicates Quickswitch on the ground, "We just saved your friend's life. Now back off and--" The other Enforcer takes his comrade aside, "Maybe we should let the Decepticon go. I want to be somewhere safe when it does wake up. This might as well be a test run and I don't know whether to call it success or failure." They consult between themselves, then they head toward Quickswitch with guns out, but each grabs him under an arm, "Go." Blast Off is still struggling to see, to hear... to even taste anything besides the acrid, burning, scorched blackness of his own mouth. One optic IS catching some kind of signal, he decides.... but the other is cracked, dark and useless. His faceplate shattered to bits, doing it's job and protecting his facial structure. It's probably what saved his head from complete annhilation. Not that this really affords anyone an actual good look AT the face underneath- it's far too blackened and scorched now to get much of a sense besides: OUCH. Swindle stares at the passed out mecha puma. "Well. What do you know. That might come in handy," he says, "OK, you let me take my partner, go in peace, serve Primus and all that." He bends down to help Blast Off up. "I have no interest in stopping you from taking your fallen...mech...with you." Somehow friend, comrade, or even ally seemed inappropriate to Swift Blade in this case. She puts away her swords, never suspecting that they would do anything other than what they state. Carefully she goes to the other side of Blast Off to assist Swindle in helping him up. The shuttleformer is just going to have to deal with being close to people this time. Still, while she's aiding the fallen Decepticon, she flicks a glance towards Quickswitch and the Enforcers every so often. The Enforcers do the same, watch Swindle and Swift Blade while they see to Quickswitch, "He was never here." They heft up the massive mech and then fly off in the direction of Iacon. "Great," Swindle says, "And let us never speak of this again." Blast Off reacts as two people try to grab hold of him... he's confused and disoriented and all he hears right now is a swarm of angry Insecticons inside his head. So he resist the attempts to help him up, fearing it's the Enforcers instead, swinging his weapon around in a panic as he does so. He wants his PERSONAL SPACE SLAG IT. Swift Blade doesn't know how well Blast Off will be able to hear, but she gently pats his hand and says, "You're with friends." Hopefully some of that will get through, and it's not very likely that the Enforcers, or Quickswitch, would be patting his hand. Swindle transforms to his jeep mode. "Put him in the back," he instructs Swift Blade, "I'll get him to a repair bay fast." Blast Off keeps fighting- until that gentle hands pats his. It's oddly comforting- and terrifying- all at the same time. Overwhelmed by far too much sensory input and shock, he finally just sort of....wilts and falls back onto the ground. Gently Swift Blade helps the unfortunate mech back to his feet and onto the jeep-that-is-Swindle. Carefully she takes the handles of one of her swords and places it in Blast Off's hand, curling his fingers against it's grooved, cylindrical shape. Surely someone who was an enemy would not be handing him a weapon, yes? "Take it easy, bud," Swindle says soothingly, as he starts up and makes his way down the road. Blast Off is guided onto a Jeep. He feels the metal surface- who is this It seems almost... jeep like, could it be...? Still dazed, he flinches as that hand comes back and places a sword in his. His hand tenses, fingers rigid, and he almost drops it. Then he's got it in a death rgip instead, clutching at it like it's an achor to a ship lost at sea. "Zkkkt*Bkkk*" he tries to say. Somewhere he senses it's Swift Blade... it must be- it must be one of her swords. Exhausted, he finally relaxes- relaxes everything, that is, except the hand gripping her sword. Likely she couldn't keep up on foot, so Swift Blade transforms again and takes to the air. There's not much else she can do for Blast Off right now; she's just hoping that he understood, at least to some degree, what she was trying to do. Swindle drives until he finds an all-night repair bay that he often deals with, backing in to the premises. "Hurry up you guys, one of my buddies got hurt by some freak bot," he says. Several medics that work for Swindle hurry to lift Blast Off out of Swindle's jeep bed and place him on a repair slab. Swift Blade doesn't say anything to the medics; Swindle has already said it all. However, with Blast Off in their care, she still has nothing to do. So she just looks at Swindle and extends a hand, "I am Swift Blade." It might not be the best circumstance to meet someone over, but she figures she might as well get the introduction out of the way. "Oh, hi," Swindle says, "I'm Swindle. Any idea what that thing was that attacked Blast Off?" Swift Blade shakes her head. "He looked vaguely familiar. Obviously not someone friendly," she says, perhaps a bit dryly. When speaking to Swindle she looks at him, but the rest of the time her optics are on Blast Off's repairs. "Either way, they seemed in a hurry to leave." Blast Off is taken into the facility and placed on a medtable as the first aid workers begin their job. It will take some time- the damage to his head and face is extensive, and will require some restructuring. But he's been stablized for now. And as long as the Authorities don't find him here, he should recover. His grip on that sword doesn't loosen, however, and the medics finally give up trying to get it out of his hand. "You're telling me. From the sounds of it, someone oughtta put that thing down," Swindle says. Amid the flurry of medics working emergency, an assistant who seems to handle more clerical work than hands-on repairing walks in to talk with one of the staff. They exchange some quick words. "A courier is here claiming to have an express delivery." "Can't you see I am busy! Just sign for it!" There is a pause from the assistant. "The courier insists she has to deliver it straight to you and get your imprint." There is a groan followed by acquiescence. The assistant whisks out and then comes back with a small femme behind her. The femme has a parcel tucked under her arm and is looking about and moving very carefully, trying to stay out of everyone's way. She hands the parcel over and holds out a pad to the receiver. "Pits! THAT was fast! B grade micro solar panel and an only mildly damaged astrometric chip!" the medic explains upon opening the parcel, seeming to have lost his gruffness. Swivel looks up expectantly at the mech, and he gives her a small tip. "Now get out of my way!" "Thank ye kindly!" Swivel chirps merrily as she tucks the proof of delivery pad away. "We hardly know the whole story; he could just be another victim of the system," Swift Blade muses softly. "There seem to be quite a number of them. It seems as though they have people with the skills to make the mind quite...unstable." She's definitely seen the number they did on Blurr's mind. "But that is what this war is about, isn't it? The system abusing the people it's supposed to be protecting?" She speaks about the war in an even lower voice. After Swivel makes her delivery, the femme gives her a nod, not wanting to interfere with her job. She doesn't say anything to her at the moment; she's not sure if the femme is pressed for time or not. Swindle looks over at the delivery mech. "She didn't see nothin, I hope. And you all didn't see nuthin." One of the mechs, a heavy set one who does most of the heavy lifting that isn't taken care of by a motorized lifter, salutes and says, "I KNOW NUTHINGK. I SEE NUTHINGK. I HEAAAAAAAAR NUUUUUUUUUUTHIIIIIIIIIINGK!" Blast Off is resting, hand still gripping the sword Swift Blade gave him in a tight lock that the medics have been unable to wedge free. They operate on him though, carefully removing the extensive damaged sections of his face and head before bringing in replacement sections. His face can actually be seen now- at least partially. It's still somewhat concealed with bandages and meshing, but the face usually hidden underneath the faceplate is much more apparent than usual. Beyond all the damage, it even appears that it's not a BAD looking face, either! Again- at least what is visible as the medics peel away and replace those damaged parts. Swindle wanders over to Blast Off as he's getting patched back up. "It's ok, it'll be fine, Blast Off," he says, "You're in good servos. We'll have you back up and running in no time." As Swivel is about to head out, her optic catches sight of Swift Blade, the femme from the bar the other cycle. It takes her a moment to place her, since to her all seekers do look the same. She then looks at the overbearing heavy lifter, then to Swindle, then to the large mech again. Then back at Swindle as he walks over to Blast Off, and she can't help but peer curiously at the patient he seeks to console. It takes her a moment to recognise the mech, what with the face wound and medics working about him. Swivel finally sidles over to Swift Blade. "Ouch. 'E sure took a blast ter the bucket." Swift Blade blinks at the exchange between Swindle and the heavy-lifting mech. She's not entirely sure what that was all about. But she does smile faintly when he offers comforting words to Blast Off. She watches the repairs with a bit of curiosity and a bit of concern, though she isn't overly expressive of either. "Yes, he certainly did," says Swift Blade with a little bit of a sigh. "He was in pretty bad shape when we found him." She folds her arms across her chest, not out of beligerence but in a gesture of waiting. "Yeah, pretty much," Swindle says, "When I got there some strange beast mech was about ready to make him a chew toy." Maybe it's mimicry, maybe it is just similar body language, but almost as soon as Swift Blade crosses her arms, so does Swivel. She gives a good, long look at the mech being repaired. There are other patients sure, but they aren't in quite as bad a state. "Been seein' a lotter mechs gettin' mauled senseless lately." She pauses a moment after this remark, a lopsided grin appearing on her face. "I don't know if that's just the way of things on Cybertron as a general rule, or if it's because of the rising tensions and war that everyone says is inevitable," Swift Blade says to Swivel. "Regardless of the reason, I doubt it is likely to get much better soon." She looks over to Swindle. "He looked familiar." She pauses for a bit. "I believe we encountered him in a bar a few cycles past. He was terribly rude." Yes, he didn't make a very good impression on Swift Blade, now that she thinks about it. "Who was rude?" Swindle asks, acting like he was almost paying attention but seemed to be jolted from staring out into space. There is a ponderous pause from the courier femme. She then looks up at Swift Blade. "Y'mean ther loud mech wi'the green optics?" Swivel inquires to be sure they are thinking of the same moody mech. Swivel tilts her head to one side. "I think 'is name was, uh, Quick sumtin'." She tilts her head to the other side. "Ya ne'er did tell me what th'word 'e was calling Whirl was." The medics finish stabilizing the Combaticon shuttleformer's facial structure, then wrap it up in fine meshing. At this point, Blast Off just needs time to heal and rest. He's given more painkilling IVs, then the medics begin carting him to a recovery area. One medic approaches Swift Blade, Swivel, and Swindle. (so many SWs!). "You're with ...who was this again? The facial injury case?" "The mech that had attacked Blast Off; assuming that was him that they carried away. I didn't get that good a look at him, but I'm sure he was the same one," Swift Blade says to Swindle. She thinks for a moment later. "I believe his name was Quickswitch." She nods her head to Swivel. "The Empurata is something that I only learned about recently myself," she says to the other femme gently. "But it's a means of punishment where they remove the facial features and hands of an individual that runs afoul of them." Then a medic approaches. "Yes, we're with him." Well, Swindle and she are, but she doesn't need to go in that much detail. "Is there something you needed?" she inquires. "Yeah, that's Blast Off," Swindle says to the Medic, "That's my comrade in arms." "Quickswitch, yeah! Tha's th'name!" Swivel says with rather irreverent excitement. She then remembers she's in a repair bay and pipes down a bit, looking somewhat sheepish. She says nothing to the medic and just leaves the talking to Swift Blade and Swindle. The medic looks to them and nods. Swindle gives her Blast off's name, and she writes that down. "Blast...Off..." Then she looks up again. "Your friend is stabilized. You must have worked fast to get him here- he lost a lot of energon from that head injury, and without some quick work his face would have been much more permenantly damaged, and his life could have in danger. But he should be Ok now. He needs to rest and allow his facial structure to self-repair and set. But barring anything unforeseen or... strenuous, he should be fine. He should be thankful to have friends like you." She smiles. Swift Blade returns a faint smile to the medic and nods her head once. "I will see what I can do to help him recover," she says. Even if she has to mech-sit him to make sure he stays put and doesn't do anything strenuous. "I am glad to hear he will recover." She gives Swivel a bit of an odd look at the femme's exuberance, but says nothing about it. "I pretty much reached him right after it happened," Swindle says to the medic, "So yeah, I got him here right away." The small femme seems somewhat mesmerised by watching the medics work. NOt just on BLast Off, but most of what they do in general. While looking about she remarks, "One lucky mech I tells ya..." The medic's smile doesn't falter. "Your quick actions may have saved his life. If you like you can wait here as he recovers, or you are free to visit him. Now- did I hear you say Quickswitch is the one who did this to him?" She writes that name down as well and turns to leave. "He has to have a bit of good luck now and then, though I would hardly consider it lucky that he got shot in the first place," Swift Blade says to Swivel. Nodding to the medic she says, "It was from what I could tell; we didn't arrive until after he had been attacked." She tilts her head to the side. "Has he said anything about whether he feels up for visitors or not?" she asks, unsure of whether he is cognizant enough for a visit. Swivel giggle lightly. "Y'may say 'e's unlucky fer gettin' shot, but I says luck 'ent the lack o' bad things 'appenin', but rather 'en they do, it's not ther worse case s'nario." Swivel smiles, her cheerfulness seeming out of place. The medic pauses to nod once again. "I see." She scribbles something down, then glances from Blast off to Swift Blade. "No, right now he's resting. His systems went into shock and now that he's got some painmeds his body finally relaxed enough to enter recharge- which is what he needs. However, he came in with a sword stuck in his hand, and we haven't been able to get him to let go of it. Do you know where that came from?" She then blinks and looks at Swivel. "Oh. Well, I suppose? *Always look on the bright side of life*, eh?" "That is one way to look at it," agrees Swift Blade thoughtfully, considering the femme's words. "The sword is mine," she says to the medic. "He couldn't see or hear well, so I was hoping it would let him know he was among friends," is her explaination. "If it is in the way I can try to get him to let go, but if it doesn't make a difference he might as well hold onto it." Swivel bobs her head with enthusiasm. "Yuppers, a'ways ther bright side!" She exclaims. Her smile drops and she looks down, murmuring "...speshully now more'n ever...." However, after this lapse in cheer she smiles again. The medic looks to Swift Blade and makes a mild "oh!" expression. "I see! Heh, well, there was something there he seemed to like- he won't let go. But that's Ok, we worked around it. If you don't mind I suppose we can leave it... for now. If he lets go while you're away, I'll put it somewhere safe for you to pick up." She turns to give Swivel a sympathetic look. "Oh.... I know. I try to stay cheerful, too, but..." she looks around, "We're seeing MORE patients lately. I.... I don't know." She shrugs, give them a sad little smile, and heads down the hallway. Blast off, meanwhile, lies on his medtable, finally recharging. He looks very odd faceplate-less, though the meshing hides some features still. But for now, he rests- still gripping that sword.